The windshield wiper was invented in 1903 and is still the standard window cleaning device for cars and other vehicles. During the 20th century, several improvements to the available system were presented and patented; however the main ideas of the original system, comprising a pivoting arm and a rubber blade, pushing away water from the glass surface, remain the same in the commercial solutions that are available today.
Although traditional wipers have been the industry standard for many decades, there are a number of disadvantages associated with the use of such cleaning devices. The wipers are not always capable of pushing away all the water on the glass surface; there is often a remaining thin layer of water, which can make the wiped area blurry and reduce visibility. This problem is particularly relevant when driving after dark and is a common problem when the rubber blades are not new. Wipers need to be replaced regularly. Traditional wipers may also distract the driver and reduce visibility when they are in use. Furthermore, they can scratch the class surface if there are for example small rocks under the rubber. Another inconvenience with traditional windshield wipers is that they are not capable of cleaning the entire windshield.
There have been various attempts to replace the traditional cleaning devices with alternative solutions involving vibrations, heat, air jets, sonic waves, development of special material or even lasers. However, none of these ideas has had any commercial success so far despite the numerous disadvantages with the traditional cleaning devices and the size and value of the global market.